1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to containers, in particular plastic envelopes and bags for holding liquids, oils, creams and the like, formed of a housing body made of a thermosealable, substantially flexible laminate, within which a substantially rigid insert is secured, the insert providing easier opening and repeated reclosing of the container, while also preventing leakage of the container. More particularly, the invention relates to single or multiple dose envelopes, formed of rigid and flexible parts, the major flexible part serving as a container for doses of small liquid quantities (from single doses up to a maximum quantity of 100 ml), and the rigid part, secured to the inside top portion of the container, acting, after it has been fractured and flipped over, as a sealing and/or perforation member.
2. Description of the Related Art
Over the past few years, there has been a trend in the packaging industry toward providing containers which are easier to open and/or use by the consumer. An example of this is the proliferation of many successful packagings both in the sector of rigid packaging (e.g. dispenser for dentifrice with pump and integral dispenser) and in the sector of flexible packaging (e.g. stand-up packaging with straw and perforation aid).
A type of packaging that until today has remained substantially unchanged is an envelope for small volumes of liquids or creams, e.g. from single dose to 100 ml envelopes. Such packaging has obtained a wide success over many years in the food field and in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical fields. Some of the advantages of these types of small envelopes/bags are as follows:
the wide selection of currently available laminates assuring a suitable protection to the product; PA1 remarkably practical and hygienic characteristics during use; PA1 the content is prebatched; PA1 they can be distributed in many different ways, e.g. by insertion in newspapers or magazines or coupled with other packagings, etc..
In spite of this, traditional small envelope packaging has some drawbacks:
It cannot be easily opened on one hand since the laminates for holding liquids are relatively tough, on the other hand, due to the tendency of the same sealing layer to lose its adhesion if the package content reacts with the adhesives. This phenomenon reduces the "tearing possibility" of laminates.
It cannot be reclosed. Sometimes the consumer is inclined to use the dose at different times, but the lack of possibility of closing the containers once they are opened compels the marketing division to select single dose packaging, even if this is not optimal from a marketability point of view.
Further, it must be observed that single dose packaging is, in general, a packaging undesirably subject to ambient conditions owing to the high ratio between the packaging surface and the content volume. The possibility of reclosing the packaging permits multiple dose packaging and reducing greatly this ratio and consequently the impact of ambient conditions.
The delivery occurs in a manner which is difficult to control and at locations which are difficult to pinpoint. In fact, the opening of a traditional single dose package is usually made by tearing, resulting in an opening having a variable section and frayed edges. This makes it difficult to deliver the desired quantity at the desired point.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a container system that does not have the above mentioned drawbacks and in particular does not have the drawbacks of impossible reclosing, difficult opening and limited controlled delivery, by utilizing a rigid insert suitably shaped and made of plastic material.